for a Netflix audience. Casting In February 2010, Maggie Q was cast as Nikita. Executive producer Silverstein said casting Q was a simple and quick process, because they wanted someone who was beautiful, and could fight, and who you could believe holding a gun at the same time, and she was perfect. Later that month, Shane West was cast as Michael. In March, Lyndsy Fonseca was given the role of Alex. Silverstein commented the casting of Fonseca, saying she came in at the last moment but was cast because they liked her intensity. Later that month, Tiffany Hines was cast as Jaden and Xander Berkeley was added to the cast as Percy. In October 2010, Noah Bean gained a recurring role as Ryan Fletcher, a CIA case officer and analyst. Casting for the second season started in July 2011 when Dillon Casey was cast as Sean Pierce, a former U.S. Navy Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU, formerly Seal Team Six) officer contracted to monitor Amanda's work at Division and recover the stolen black boxes. Casey was later promoted as a series regular. After being recurring cast members for two seasons, Noah Bean and Devon Sawa were made series regulars for the third season. Crew Filming locations Although the show is set in and around New Jersey, Nikita is primarily filmed in Canada—specifically, in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario. Much of the show is filmed on location, but studio shooting is also used for sets such as 'Division' and the penthouse. Many landmark locations used on the show, such as the White House, are actually doubles meant to represent various places in North America. The series officially wrapped production on October 1, 2013. Reception Critical response On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 85% over the series four seasons. The first seasons critics' consensus reads: "Building on Maggie Q's strong central performance, Nikita is a strong spy thriller that's sleek and action-packed (if a little heavy with backstory)." Metacritic gave it a score of 69/100 based on 30 critics reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Comparisons were made to Joss Whedon's Dollhouse and the ABC spy drama Alias. Critics had praise for Maggie Q in the lead role, the look of the show, solid action sequences, the chemistry between the cast especially between the two leads Q and West, and an intriguing twist at the